Despite efforts to increase representation among those enrolled, earning degrees, and working in the computing and technology industry, women across races/ethnicities and People of Color more broadly remain underrepresented in the field. Fortunately, extant literature has found that psychosocial factors like computing identity can help broaden…

In recent years, not only has there been a dramatic drop in the number of students enrolling in computer science courses, and attrition from computer science courses continues to be significant. Traditionally, computer programming courses have high failure rates, and as they tend to be core to computer science courses can be a roadblock for many…

Distributed self-assessments and reflections empower learners to take the lead on their knowledge gaining evaluation. Both provide essential elements for practice and self-regulation in learning settings. Nowadays, many sources for practice opportunities are made available to the learners, especially in the Computer Science (CS) and programming…

This correlational, quantitative dissertation in practice explored the influence of the timing of algebra 1, taking advanced math courses, taking AP math courses, math credits earned, math self-efficacy, math identity, and socioeconomic status (SES) on the decision by girls to choose computer science education or career pathway at the…

The rise in demand for computer programming jobs has created a significant need for computer programming training. Online learning can be an effective tool for meeting the needs of these job demands. The challenge for universities is that computer programming is perceived as a difficult course by many students (Askar & Davenport, 2009; Baser,…

This dissertation conducted a science classroom intervention using two instructional approaches, computational modeling and paper-based pictorial modeling, in the context of food webs. A series of research papers were written on the impact of the intervention on students' attitudes and learning, and on teachers via professional development and…

The Digital Agenda for Europe (2015) states that there will be 825,000 unfilled vacancies for Information and Communications Technology by 2020. This lack of IT professionals stems from the small number of students graduating in computer science. To retain more students in the field, teachers can use remote robotic experiments to explain difficult…

The goal of the dissertation study was to evaluate the existing DG scheduling algorithm. The evaluation was developed through previously explored simulated analyses of DGs performed by researchers in the field of DG scheduling optimization and to improve the current RT framework of the DG at TTU. The author analyzed the RT of an actual DG, thereby…

In this educational study, the research problem was that each semester a variable number of community college students are unable to complete an introductory computer applications course at a community college in the state of Mississippi with a successful course letter grade. Course failure, or non-success, at the collegiate level is a negative…

Many universities and colleges have placed increased emphasis on teaching excellence in higher education. Efforts to promote teaching excellence vary from the development of alternative new pedagogies as well as research exploring strategies to improve existing teaching practices. Logically, different disciplines employ different instructional…

The purpose of this dissertation was to gain new insight into video game playing, exposure, and preferences as well as perceptions toward success with computers between students in computer related disciplines (CRD) and students in non computer related disciplines (NCRD). Perceptions toward success with computers were measured using a slightly…

Organizations worldwide have been turning to Six Sigma program (SSP) to eliminate the defects in their products or drive out the variability in their processes to attain a competitive advantage in their marketplace. An effective certification program has been touted as a major contributor to successful implementation of SSP. An effective…